Wednesday’s Ranvet Gold Cup Final Field & Preview

May 25, 2010

Just before game one of the State of Origin kicks off in Sydney, greyhound racing fans will be entertained on Wednesday night as Bulli hosts the next major greyhound race, the Group 2 Ranvet Gold Cup (472m).

Heats for the $25,000-to-the-winner final were held at Maitland on May 13 and on May 19 at Bulli. In the Maitland heats Hooky Booky and Hesa Felon won, while at the Bulli qualifiers Pulp and Repeated claimed victory.

The Mark Bell-trained Hooky Booky stormed home from box one in their qualifier, holding on strongly to defeat the hot favourite Elite Blue Size.

On Wednesday night Hooky Booky has again drawn the prized inside running with box one while Reg Kay’s champion Elite Blue Size has a tougher ask from box four.

A good box draw and solid record at Bulli work in Hooky Booky’s favour, however the September 2007 whelp has a tendency to get worked up in the kennels at Bulli and has to work on his box manners if he is to settle and do well here.

Named the AGRA April Greyhound of the Month, Queenslander Elite Blue Size is making his Bulli debut coming off a great win in the Group 2 Maitland Gold Cup on April 15. The sensational sprinter has been super impressive over his short career, storming home to win 18 of his 24 career starts for an imposing winning strike rate of 75%.

It will be just the second time the son of Elite State out of Size ‘Em Up has worn the blue rug, and he will be looking to make it two from two. A good 26.30 trial at Bulli last Friday has given the ‘Maroon’ hope a look at the track prior to taking on a quality field full of ‘Blues’.

Consistent black dog Hesa Felon has also drawn awkwardly for the final with box five, as the Darren Sultana-trained son of Hallucinate attempts their sixth consecutive win. Hesa Felon has displayed sensational form of late and has won both of their starts wearing the yellow rug, but will be making their first appearance at the Bulli track.

In the heats Hesa Felon scored a narrow win a mere neck in front of the odds-on favourite Shirl’s Magic. On Wednesday night Shirl’s Magic, a daughter of Surf Lorian, will jump from box seven and although looks slightly outclassed, could still pull through for a place here.

Boasting the fastest personal best at this track and distance, a scintillating 26.08, is Bulli specialist Pulp who took out the first heat here on May 19. The Craig Chappelow-trained son of Collision will jump from box three on Wednesday night and looks a top chance having won all but one of their eight starts at Bulli; if he gets away well Pulp will be hard to catch.

The last heat winner for the 2010 Ranvet Gold Cup was Repeated, the Julie Fletcher-trained black dog one of the most experienced runners in the final with 75 career starts to his name.

The 2010 Ranvet Gold Cup Final is programmed as the sixth race on Bulli’s cracker 10 event card on Wednesday night and is due to jump at 7:46pm (NSW time).

Check out the odds for all the 2010 Ranvet Gold Cup runners and get in on the betting action at Ladbrokes.com.au.